I Really Want To Upload Pictures, But I Can't.

Summer is finally here!  School has been out for a few weeks already.  Life is both busy and relaxing.

Last week we had 2 of Reed's 2nd cousins stay with us for a few days. A boy who is 13 and a littler boy who is 4. Let's just say, we were all exhausted when those days were done. We didn't know each other all that well, so that was pretty rough anyway, but it was hard for those kiddos to get dropped off with us. We didn't know enough about them to know what kinds of food they even liked, or what kinds of temperatures they were used to sleeping in. Lots of adjustments to make in a very short amount of time.

Aftyn just started a running club this morning that will last through the first part of August. I already foresee this being loads of fun for her and a great way to run off all her excess energy. At the end, she and all the kids will be running a 5k!

Bronwyn is busy. Busy playing with the neighbors and doing her job chart every morning. She just got new lenses for her glasses and gets to wear them pretty much all day now. So we're adjusting to another full time glasses wearer in the family. Lochlan and I are the only ones holding out. Bronwyn has been taking piano lessons from me for a few months and is doing awesome at it! She seems to be a natural and really enjoys learning how to play. She wants to learn how to walk a tightrope this summer. I need to do some research into how to even help her work toward that goal. She also wants to learn how to do a flip on the trampoline.

Mirren is having daily preschool and learning house cleaning skills like sorting laundry, vacuuming, and wiping off counters. She was already doing a lot of these things, but now that we have to do them daily, she's getting REALLY good at repeated skills. Such as vacuuming.  And learning not to complain about having a job every day. She is doing great at riding her bike with training wheels, which was one of her goals this summer. She's really proud of herself and that's fun to see. She continues to grow like a weed and she and Bronwyn are nearly 1 size apart in clothes. But I think Bronwyn is having a growth spurt so we will have to see how things are sizing up in a few months.

Lochlan is stubborn and funny and mostly "So so so mad, Mom".  Oh the toddler 'tude is strong with this one. He is busy and curious and wants to help with all the jobs at our house. He loves to look at books especially about Sesame Street and Ernie and Bert and all the old school characters, and dump trucks and diggers and trains and sprinklers. He is in that "let's learn about everything in books so I can continually point them out again and again when we read this book over and over" stage. It's a fun one. ;)  Riding in the car with him is quite the adventure as well since he's always pointing out things as we drive. Often he tells me to "turn 'round, Look! Turn 'round, Mom". His new word in the car is "Wow! That's amazing!".  He still LOVES to smell things and now proclaims "Mmmm, 'licious that!".  It's hilarious and cute and he has no idea how sweet and funny it is to hear him say that. He's always telling me that he smells something.   He has also started telling me "I love you Mom".  That's the best. Today in the car he turned to Bronwyn who sits next to him and told her "I love you sister".  Without provocation and just because.  So if you look past the attitude and the grumpy words he has to say, there are moments that make it all worth it and help me to see the promise there.

Reed and I are doing well. Still waiting to finish being certified as foster parents but oh so close. Work is going well for Reed. Summer is keeping me busy. My usual crazy barrage of crafty projects is keeping me busy. Gotta get going on recovering my couch here in the next couple of days. I was just called to now be the 1st counselor in primary since the old one just moved. Not much changed but just enough that I need to get myself better organized there. Reed was just called to be the secretary in the Priesthood Organization. He loves to go and play basketball once a week with the ward. Plays outside almost nightly with the kids and they love that. If he doesn't play outside then it's hide and seek or tag inside. We love to play board games with our kids. It's fun that at least half of them can follow rules and understand how to play now.

That's it for this update. I want to post pictures and videos, I have so many! *sigh* I'll keep working on it.